Process of making clear ice.



No. 828,887. PATENTED AUG.21, 1906.

W. T. HOOFNAGLE.

PROCESS OP MAKING CLEAR ICE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 20. 1903.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

gill/11114 llllllllflqlllllqlaal "PATENTBD AUG. 21, 1906.

W. T. HOOFNAGLE.

PROCESS OP MAKING CLEAR ICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20. 1903.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No. 828,887. PATBNTED AUG. 21,1906. W. T. HOOFNAGLE.

PROCESS 0F MAKING CLEAR ICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY'ZO. 1903.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Fig.

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Specication of Letters Patent.

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` i application had May zo, 1903. serai No. 158,027.

To all whom it may-concern: l

Be it known that l, WiLLrAM T. Hoor- NAGLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Whitestone, in the county of Queens and State of' New York, have invented cer tain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Making Clear Ice, ofwhich the following is a speciiication.

ri`his invention relates to an improved method of manufacturing ice, in the practice of which clear ice in block form may be made by the vacuum process, in which the water is frozen by its own partial vaporization in a vacuum. in carrying out my invention the water to having iirst been properly filtered or otherwise clarified is intro ber, which is connected to suitable exhaust mechanism adapted to maintain a vacuum in` high to remove lthe the chamber sufficiently greater part of the air from the water and cool the water by its own vaporization to a temperature near the freezing-point. The vacuum maintained in this chamber, however, is insufficient to cause the water to conmeans 'are provided for spraying, spreading, and agitating the water while in this cooling and de'aerating chamber, so that Athe entrained air and. gases will read-'- ass ofi with the vaors to the exhaust mechanism. After havmg been preliminarily deaerated as far as practicable and relieved of part of its heat 1n this chamber the water without again being in contact with the atmosphere and while still under less than atmospheric pressure is conveyed in regulated quantities into afreezing-chamber and delivered into one or more constantly-moving pans. rlhis freezing-chamber is connected with suitable exhaust mechanism, and a high enough vacuum is maintained in the chamber to cause rapid evaporation and freezing of the water. The pans are moved in such manner as to flow the water back and forth therein, thus exposing the water in thin sheets to the iniiuence of the high vacuum, so that any air remaining therein is readily freed and removed and the water is quickly frozen in thin successive layers. Cakes of clear ice are thus built up inthe pans. As the water is preliminarily cooled. andrelieved of the greater part of its air. before entering the freezing-chamber and then exposed in thin sheets inl said chamber, the blocks of ice are quickly formed.

uced

ln order to explain my invention fullyl have illustrated 1n the accompanying drawings one form of-apparatus suitable for manufacturing clear ice by my method. The essential and novel steps in the practice of my invention may, however, be carried out 1n various Ways and by various means.

In the drawings, Figure i is a side view, partly in section, of an apparatus suitable for practicing my invention. view of the same. Fig. 3 is a side view of the freezing-chamber, showing the connectionsfor operating the valves to admit water to the pans or trays in which the ice is formed and also, the connections for rocking the trays. Fig-4 is a detailed perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of one of the water receivers oi' receptacles from which the water is admitted intermittently to the trays, one end of the receptacle being partly broken away; and Fig. 5 is afront view, looking from the right in Fig. 1, of the cam-levers, cams, and connections for operating the valves; and Figs.' 6` and 7 are side views showing lters arranged between the aerating and freezing chambers. Referring to the drawings, A indicates suitable exhaust mechanism, which in the drawings consists of a pumphaving low, intermediate, and highy compression cylinders 1, 2, and '3, respectively, through which the vapors from. a freezing-chamber .B are successively and continuously drawn and ej ected into l the atmosphere or a suitable condenser during the ice-making process, the vapors passing from the freezing-chamber to the lowpressure cylinder 1 through a pipe connection 4. i The freezing-chamber B is made air-tight and provided at one end with a door 5, through which access may be had to the interior of the chamber. A high' vacuum is constantly maintained in the freezing-chamber B, and the water admitted to said chamber in the manner hereinafter described is frozen by its own partial rapid evaporation, the vaors therefrom being carried olf by the pump. n order to remove the icefrom the freezingchamber, la valve 6 is provided in the pipe 4, by which communication between the pump and freezing-chamber may be cut off, and an air-inlet valve 7 is provided at a suitable place for admitting air to the chamber 1n order to break the vacuum and permit the door 5 to be opened.

The water to supply-pipe 8 through a suitab e filter C and Fig. 2 is a plan YOO IIO

be frozen iirst V asses from a thence by a pipe 9 to a deaerating and cooling chamber D. This chamber, as shown, is vertically arranged and provided with a series of reversely-inclined baffle or spreading plates 10, upon the uppermost one of which the water is delivered from the pipe 9 through a rose or spraying device 1l, which sprays the water upon the plate. The water flows downwardly over the plates in a thin stream or layer and accumulates in the lower part of the chamber, wherein isarranged an agitating device E; consisting of a horizontally-arranged and suitably-driven shaft 12, having thereon a series of radially-arranged blades or beaters 13, which agitate the body of Water in the bottom of the chamber. The upper portion of the deaerating and cooling chamber D is connected to the intermediate cylinder 2 of the pump by a suitable pipe 14, and a partial vacuum is thereby maintained in said chamber. As the chamber is connected to the intermediate cylinder of the pump, the vacuum is not sufficiently high to cause the water in the chamber D to congeal; but theA vacuum is high enough to cause rapid evaporation of part of the water and cooling of the remainder to a temperature close to the freezing-point. This partial vacuum relieving the water of its atmospheric pressure permits the air contained in the water to escape therefrom and to pass out of the chamber with the vapors, and the spraying, spreading, and agitating of the water within the chamber permits the entrained air to pass freely from the water, thus leaving the latter in a practically deaerated condition when it leaves the chamber.

In order to take care of the vapors from the chamber D, the intermediate cylinder 2 of the pump which is connected to said chamber is made somewhat larger in diameter and capacity than it otherwise would be.

' The water after having been deaerated and cooled down to a temperature near the freezing-point is admitted to the freezing-chamber B Without being permitted to again come into contact with the atmosphere or to be subjected to atmospheric pressure. As shown, the deaerated and cooled water from the chamber D passes through a pipe 15 into branch pipes 16 and 17, in which are arranged automatically-operated valves 18 and 19, re-

. spectively. These branch pipes 16 and 17 lead through the walls of the vacuum or freezing chamber B into receivers or collectors F and F respectively, secured transversely in the freezing-chamber. As shown in Fig. 4, each receiver consists of a trough made air-tight and having downwardly-converging sides 20, the lower edges of which are beveled to form knife-edges, as indicated by the'numeral 20a. The trough is closed at its lower side by a valve 21, which is secured by arms 22 to a shaft 23, which i; joui'naled in suitable lugs 6 5 or bearings 24 upon the side of th'e trough.

A facing 21a, of rubber of other suitable material, is arranged upon the upper side of the valve, so that when the valve 1s closed a gas and water tight joint is formed between the valve and the knife-edges of the trough. The

shafts 23, which operate the valves 21 of the ably supported in a horizontal position with in the freezing-chamber. The shaft 28 eX- tends through a suitable stuffing-box the wall of the freezing-chamber and is provided at its outer end with a crank-arm 29. rThe trays are connected by a link 30, so that when the crank-arm is rocked the trays will reclr in unison. These trays carry .the removable pans 31 and 32, within which the blocks of ice are formed. The water receivers or collectors and the trays are so arranged that when the latter are tilted, as shown in Fig. 1, the receivers will be at the upper ends of the pans, and the trays are arranged se that they may rock about thirty degrees from the horizontal in both directions without interfering with the receivers. The trays are constantly rocked back and forth to permit the Water delivered into the pans to freeze in successive films or layers.

The valves of the water-receptacles are normally held closed by springs 33, connected to the arms 25 and 26, and are opened peri odically to permit the Water contained in the' receptacles to flow into the pans after the lat ter have made a stated number of oscillations, during which time the water delivered intov the pans flows back and forth and is frozen in successive layers by reason of the rapid evap.- oration of a portion of the water. Each red ceptacle after having its contents discharged remains empty until shortly before its valve is again opened, when it is refilled with water from the deaerating and cooling chamber.- The water, therefore, which is at a low temperature after leaving the deaeratingechamber does not enter the freezing-.chamber untilA about the time it is to be emptied into the pans, and the formation of ice in the waterreceptacles does not take place.

As shown in the drawings, the trays carrying the forming-pans are rocked by means of a rod 34, connected to the crank-mm2@ 'and to a crank-pin 35, carried by a constantlyer'o tated driving-shaft 36. The valve 21` of the water-receptacle F is opened after the adja cent pan 32 has made six oscillations by means of a rod 37, connected to the crank, arm 26 and to the end of a cam-lever 38, which latter has a cam-surface a arranged in the path of a pin 39 upon a cam-wheel 40.

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' 4 eases? rIhis cam-wheel is secured to a shaft 41, which is driven by a pinion 42 upon the driving-shaft 36 and a gear 43 upon the camshaft, the ratio of gearing'shown in the drawings being one to siX. The cam-wheel rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow,

and the surface of the cam a i's so formed that the pin 39 will raise the lever 38 promptly to open the valve and allow the water to pour into the pan in a solid stream the width of the pan without splashing when the pan is tilted into the position shown and permit the valve to be closed suddenly by the spring, so that any ice-formed'upon the valve-face or the narrow edges of the valve-seat will be cut off by the impact of the valve against the seat. In the same manner the valve of the receptacle F is opened once for every siX oscillations of the pan 31 by a pin 44, arranged upon the opposite side of the'cam-wheel 40 and diametrically op osite to the pin 39, a cam-lever 45 and a ro 46 connectlng said cam-lever with the crank-arm 25. The receptacles for the dierent pans are opened alternately instead of simultaneously for the purpose of equalizing the evaporation work required of the pump and maintaining a more uniform vacuum.

The receptacles, as stated, are not refilled immediately after discharging their contents, the supply of water from the deaeratingchamber being normally cut off by the valves 18 and 19, arranged in the branch pipes 16 and 17. These cut-off valves 18 and 19 are opened immediately before the valves of the water-receptacles are opened by means of rods 49 and 50, connected to the valve-levers 47 and 48 and to cam-levers 51 and 52, respectively, which cam-levers are adapted to be' raised and lowered alternately by pins 53 and 54 upon a cam-wheel 55, secured to the cam-shaft 41. These pins 53 and 54 are so arranged relatively to the pins 44 and 39 that the valves 18 and 19 will open and close to allow the receptacles to fill just before the valves of the rece tacles are opened. The water, therefore, oes not remain in the receptacles long enough to form 1ce.

A single pan or surface u on which the water may be made to How ack and forth is sufficient; but any number of pans or surfaces may be employed. Preferably two or more pans are used, and the water is discharged into them successively at intervals in order`to keep the supply of water in the freezing-chamber as uniform as possible, so thatthe vacuum and the work required of the pump may be uniform. As the water is admitted from the deaerating and cooling chamber into the freezing-chamber without being in the meantime brought into contact withthe atmosphere or subjected to atmosh'erlc pressure and is,cooled almost to the lfreezing-point before entering the freezingchamber, the total work required of the pump is not in any way increased by the deaerating and cooling process. The clear ice may be made, therefore, with substantially the same ex enditure of power as is required in ma ig the vacuum ice, which is characterized by its whiteness, largely due to the entrained air.

The water-receptacles are nearly as wide as the interiors of the pans. They are filled with water intermittently, as stated, and when the valve of a receptacle is opened the water falls in astream nearly or quite as wide as the interior of the pan and in such volume that it does not freeze in falling.

Owing to the fact that the air is removed and when the water is poured into the pan,

splashing is avoided, and the water iows to t e opposite end of the an in a thin sheet and is then rocked bac and forth and is frozen in layers conformin to the dimensions .ofvthe pan, thus builgding up a solidV block of clear ice of the same shape as the pan. As the water spreads out in a thin sheet of comparatively large area in the pan while being gently rocked back and forth, any air remaining in the water passes off with the va ors. A

ce formed by the vacuum process in the usual way by spraying the water into a vacuum-chamber is opaque, owing to the entrained air and to some extent to the irregular arrangement or formation of the ice-crystals, and the same difllculty has arisen in attempts to form ice in a vacuum from still water in cans. By my process the water is frozen in a state which is as compared with the spraying process comparatively quiet and dense, and as the water is preliminarily cooled to a low temperature and deaerated and then admitted to the 'pans intermittently in such quantities that it 'will pass'into the pans in solid sheets or streams without freezing and, is then rapidly frozen in layers no trouble is experienced from irregularity in ice-crystals or entrained air.

I find it advantageous to arrange the filter between the deaerating-chamber and the freezing-chamber, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, In Fig. 6 the water from the source of supply is admitted directly to the deaerating-chamber D through the supplyipe 8. After deaeration in this chamberh t e water flows by gravity through the pipe 15, flterC, and

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iii-5 the arrangement is the same, except that a large filter C2 is arranged to filter the water before entering the i-deaeratingchamber through the pipe Qafand a smaller filter C3 is arranged between the pipes 15,a and 1 5b to remove the precipitate which results from the deaerationv of the water. With the arrange- 'ment shown in Figs. 6 and 7 it is unnecessary to use a'coagulant, suchv as alum, to clarify the water. Where it is inconvenient to raise the deaerating-chamber high enough above the vfilter to obtain the necessary head to force the .water through the filter, a pump may of lcourse be inserted in the pipe 15a to supply sufficient force to pass the water throughthe filter.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by-Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. rThe method of manufacturing clear ice by the vacuum process, which comprises introducing the water to be frozen into a closed chamber, maintaining a partial vacuum therein to remove air from thewater and preliminarily cool the water, transferring the water lto another closed chamber intermittently in regulated quantities, flowing the water back-and forth over a surface in said latter chamber, and maintaining a sufficiently high vacuum therein to freeze the waiter in successive layers byits own partial vapori'zation.

2. The method of manufacturing ice by the vacuum process, which comprises introducing the water to be frozen into a -closed chamber, maintaining .y a partial vacuum vtherein to remove air from the water and preliminarily coolv the water, transferring regulated quantities of the waterintermittently, While under less than atmos heric pressure,

to a 'surface or an in a close 4freezing-charnbe'r in' such vo umjes that the water'will not .freeze in passing onto said surfac the water repeatedly over said surface, and' maintaining a 'suflicientlylhig'h vacuum in said'freezing-chamberto freeze the'water by "its own partial vaporization.l f

3. The method of'manufacturing blocks of Will be frozenV in la e flowing in presence of two witnesses.

clear ice by the vacuum process which comprises preliminarily deaerating `the iwate, pouring regulated quantities of the deaeatet'l water intermittently upon a pan or surfacein a freezing-chamber in such volumesthatthe water will not freeze inpouring'ituponthe surface, flowing the water lrepeatedly over said surface, and-maintaininga sufficiently high vacuum in said freezing-chamber` #to freeze the water by its own partial vaporization. Y

4 4. The method of manufacturingblocksiof clear ice-by the vacuum process whichfcomprises preliminarily deaer-ating vthe water, pouring regulatedv quantities of the deaerated water intermittently upon a surface orrpani'n a freezing-chamber in such volumeslthatthe water will not freeze Whilepassing ontosaicl surface, flowing fthe water yrepeatedly over said surface and Amaintaining .a sufficientlyhigh vacuum in said freezing-chamber 'Ito freeze the yWater'by its own partial yvaporisation. l

5. The method of-manufacturingl-blocksf prises preliminarily deaeratingitheiwatenand reducing its temperature nearly to fthe freezing-point, pouring'regulated quantities ofjthe water, intermittently, upon apan 'or sufface.l

in a freezing-chamber in such volumes that the water will'not'freeze in pouringitfu'pon the pan or surface, vmoving said-pan orfsurface to cause the water 4to flowre'peatedl thereover7 and maintaining a sufli'cientlyhig vacuum in said'freezing-chamber to freeze the water by'its own'partial vaporization.;

6. Themethod of manufacturing clearice by the vacuum pro-'cess whchf-compris'esadmttingwater toa pan-0r Vsurface within=ja freezing-chamber intermittently, in suchwflumes'that the waterfwll not-freezefwhile being. admitted to the pan, maintaining a sfby its own partial vaporizationandrocldng the pan constantly' to cause the waterf to liow back and v forth thereover' whereby* the'Water rs. `VIn testimony W ereof-Laffbrfmyfsignature --wrL- LIAM rrr-roommate, Witnesses: A A

WuC. GERTSLER, G.`W.`Hor1rNs. 

